Redline Revenge — The Decommissioned Bike

Why is a rookie on it? They put a five-time champion on a decommissioned bike and a rookie on the winning machine? Has the team lost its mind?

Give the bike back to Nora! No one answered. The starting gun went off. Every bike launched at once.

The roar of the engines rolled across the track. The old bike was way more brutal than the championship one. The engine temperature spiked in seconds. Heat kept burning through the frame into my thigh.

I couldn't feel the pain. There was only one thought left in my head. Ride. Ride as hard as I can.

One corner after another disappeared behind me. My tires kissed the mountain wall. The bike leaned to its limit. The commentator's voice cracked in my ear.

Nora is charging. She's on a bike that was decommissioned years ago. My God, she's in the top five. Second place.

Nora is in second place. On the other side of the track, Lena on my championship bike was falling back. She'd started strong at the front,

but as the laps stretched on, fifth, seventh, event. She dropped straight into the middle of the pack. A reporter's voice came through the open channel.

Lina is crying. She's crying while she rides. She clearly can't handle the I didn't care. All I could see was the tail light of the leader ahead. One long climb. That was all I needed to take him. Then Sebastian's voice cut into my ear, barely his anger.

Nora, have you had enough? Slow down. Now. Drop out of the lead group. Get behind Lina